Broke off my abs sensor flush to the diff . If I can't work it out of the housing from the top, can it be accessed from inside and pushed up and out from there?

 

Well in my case the answer was yes, but not without removing the differential carrier. I know what you are thinking...that's a lot of work to replace a sensor that may not have been bad in the first place. I can't argue with that.



First I soaked that sensor in PB Blaster for 2 days. Then I tried drilling a hole in the plastic of the sensor and putting a screw in there to pull on. Not successful.

Access from inside the diff is tight, as the sensor is tucked up behind the carrier. Thought I could bend the tip of a screwdriver and get to it from behind the cover to tap it out from inside, but all I managed to do was destroy the sensor, spreading the fine copper wire back where it can't be cleaned.

So after quietly crying in the corner of the garage for a few minutes, I wiped my tears and ended up pulling the axles and removing the carrier.










It was then quite easy to drive it up and out.

So anyone considering replacing this sensor, I have this advice. Remove the pigtail connector, and soak the sucker good with penetrating oil for a day or two. Then go easy! Try gently twisting it, then gently tapping a screwdriver under the lip of the sensor to get it free, then gently twist it again. Do not get western with the hammer and screw driver. There is a magnet in the center which is very brittle. It will break if you go crazy with it.

 

As you figured out the answer was yes. The sensor is very close to the teeth on the carrier so the magnet can sense the teeth as they pass by. There is no way to remove it without removing the carrier. At that point you could have also drove it down into the housing instead out out of the top.

 

Yes-my concern was not knowing what kind of clearance I had between the bottom of the sensor and the tone ring, and then possibly damaging the teeth on that ring, so driving it down into the case with the carrier installed was not an option for me. With the carrier out, it's easy to drive it either way. Anyway, at least I'm confident the housing is clean of the bits of the sensor I broke.

 

I would have considered just drilling it through, with a bigger and bigger drill bit successively, until there was just a little left to clean-up the hole. Then change the diff lube, of course...

 

I considered it. I tired it even. I did not know about the magnet in the darn thing, and you can't (I can't) drill through a magnet. Anyway in the end,I just couldn't live with the prospect of plastic, wire and pieces of magnet in there. I fought the sensor from up top longer than the 3 hours it took to pull the axles, drop the cover and the carrier and put it all back together. The hardest part of the carrier R&R is dealing with the spare tire!

 

should I drain the transmission to remove this

 

Should you drain the transmission to remove the sensor in the rear axle? You lost me….

 

no. That would be stupid. The question was aimed at the sensor breaking off and needing to drop the shaft and seperate transmission in order to remove the broken sensor on the bench. And the answer is you can just drain it down when you break it loose.

 

No. You don’t drain the transmission if the sensor comes out in one piece or has to be removed in several pieces. The transmission is already separated from the rear axle. A drive shaft connects the two components to transfer power from the transmission to the axle.



In post #2 the carrier and ring gear in the differential was removed to access the sensor.